Report: Taylor Gourmet to close all D.C.-area shops

Taylor Gourmet has had a run of fast growth, nearly doubling its store count in the past three years.

D.C. fast-casual restaurant chain Taylor Gourmet will close all 17 of its D.C.-area stores on Sunday, according to Washingtonian.

The news comes about two weeks after the restaurant told the Washington Business Journal that it was in talks about potentially closing three stores and backing off of opening a fourth, with the intention to pivot to smaller stores. Taylor Gourmet has had a run of fast growth, nearly doubling its store count in the past three years. It had expanded into Chicago with two locations, both of which the Washingtonian reported will close Friday.

A spokesperson for the hoagie chain declined to comment.

Taylor’s rapid growth stemmed from a 2015 investment of at least $5.6 million from KarpReilly, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based private equity firm that was an early investor in Habit Burger and now counts Cafe Rio and Bob’s Discount Furniture among its portfolio. Washingtonian reported that KarpReilly had pulled out of Taylor Gourmet. We have reached out to KarpReilly…